Running
by Star of Heaven
Summary: Sakura is a runner. But is she only trying to run away? [Aya x Sakura hints]


_Running_

Disclaimer: I don't own Weiß Kreuz. Obviously. This isn't a romance fic, but there may be hints. Keep your eyes and your minds open. Also, this was written for the 30 Kisses community on LiveJournal. The themes are #2 - news; letter, #3 - jolt, #7 - superstar, #9 - dash, and #16 - invincible, unrivaled. Enjoy!

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There were times when a person just wanted to run. Sometimes it was to someplace, and sometimes it was away from someplace. Few people ran for the exact same reasons. People had their own reasons for running. 

Tomoe Sakura felt as though she had been running all her life. She always made sure she was running toward something. The only time she had ever attempted to run away was when her kidney had been stolen. She had tried to run away from the shame and embarrassment she had felt. That had been a mistake. She had vowed never to run away again. Now, she was continuously running toward her goal of becoming stronger.

Sakura stood on the balcony of her bedroom and leaned on the railing. Last week there had been a competition between the track teams of several different high schools. Her team had won. Her teammates thought of her as their most valuable player, but Sakura knew that winning had been a complete team effort.

A sigh slipped from Sakura's lips. She had wanted to tell Aya the good news in person, but for some reason she couldn't work up the courage. All she could do was send him a letter.

But now, she was feeling better. She felt that she was up to heading over to the Kitty in the House. Even though Aya had most likely read the letter by now, she still wanted to tell him in person.

Sakura told her parents where she was going (they were probably wondering what was so special about a flower shop by now), and then set off for the Kitty in the House.

It was a nice day, even if the sky was filled with clouds that seemed to threaten to start raining at anytime. Sakura's body began aching to run. Maybe after talking with Aya, she would jog home. Unconsciously, she started walking faster.

Sakura reached the Kitty in the House in no time, but her heart fell when she got there. Today was one of those days when eager teenage girls crowded the flower shop. All four of the florists must be working today, she figured, slightly annoyed.

Taking a few steps closer, Sakura began to feel a bit amused. Aya and his friends were handsome, and it was kind of funny how they attracted so many teenage girls.

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" asked a familiar deep voice behind Sakura.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh, hi, Aya-san," she greeted as she quickly calmed down. She turned around to face Aya. "So how did you get past the crowd?"

"I took the back exit," Aya answered matter-of-factly. "We had that put in for a reason." Coming from anyone else, that would've sounded like a joke. "Oh, and I got your letter," he added. "Congratulations on winning."

Sakura blushed. "Thank you, Aya-san."

Aya looked toward the excited teenage girls and then back at Sakura. He seemed as if he was debating something. "Now that you're feeling better, we can finish that race we started when we first met," he finally decided.

"Oh sure, I'd love that!" Sakura replied happily, even though she knew that Aya just wanted to get away from those overzealous teenage girls.

Aya and Sakura headed to the garage and got into Aya's car. He started it up and drove out of the garage. Sakura noticed that Aya appeared relieved at the chance to get away from the flower shop.

Conversations with Aya were almost nonexistent, so a silent ride was to be expected. Still, this silence felt more awkward than usual. Okay, so it didn't seem like Aya to want to run, Sakura thought.

Sakura slightly shook her head. This wasn't strange. Aya had just wanted to get away from those insanely happy girls, and finishing a race had sounded like a good idea. But the butterflies in Sakura's stomach just fluttered faster.

The car ride felt as if it lasted for several hours. But Sakura was not reassured when they finally reached the area where they had first raced. On that fateful day, the weather had been nice. Today the sky was filled with pale gray clouds.

Aya parked his car some distance from where he had parked all those months ago. "Sakura, is something wrong?" he asked as he undid his seatbelt.

"No, I'm fine," Sakura lied unconsciously. She took off her seatbelt and then got out of the car, and Aya did the same.

Sakura did remember the place where she and Aya had first raced, but they didn't head over there. Aya didn't seem like he wanted to wander too far from his car. That did make sense, Sakura thought. The sky did look as if it could start raining any minute, and Aya was probably not the kind of person who liked to get caught in the rain.

Unexpectedly, Aya laid his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura, are you sure you're all right?" he asked again, more concern in his voice this time.

"I'm sure," Sakura replied, gently shrugging Aya's hand off of her shoulder. She began taking off the outer layer of her clothes. Sometimes it was a pain to always wear her track uniform under her normal clothes, but she could tough it out. Running was her one true passion, and she always wanted to have the chance to practice whenever she could.

"If you say so," Aya said. "Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded. She and Aya then kneeled down into the starting position. "Ready, set, go!" Sakura yelled.

As soon as the final word left Sakura's mouth, she took off with a jolt. She did so every time she ran, but this jolt had been different. With this jolt, she had felt an exhilarating sense of rush.

Unknowingly, a smile formed on Sakura's face as she dashed. She felt invincible. She knew it was conceited, but she felt like a superstar. She knew that she wasn't the best, but she was one of the best. Someday she really would be an invincible superstar.

_But how could she become an invincible superstar if she was running away?_ The thought invaded her mind quite suddenly, and her dreams came crashing down. For the second time in her life, she finally realized, she was running away.

Sakura halted abruptly as the smile vanished from her face. Aya nearly ran into her, but he was able to stop himself. "Sakura, why did you stop?"

"I'm running away," Sakura admitted in a quiet whisper. She couldn't bear to look at Aya now. "I'm afraid. I want to be your friend, Aya-san, but I don't want to be rejected again. I'm so scared of that, so much that I'm barely able to be with you."

Aya turned Sakura around and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Sakura, I'm not going to push you away," he began, his voice gentle. "I love you, but only as a friend. You've done so much for me. This friendship is very important to me, and I don't want to lose you."

The smile returned to Sakura's face. "I know you don't love me romantically," she said. "And I don't mind. I just want to be there for you. I'm glad I'm important to you."

Aya hesitated for a moment, and then bent over and kissed Sakura on her cheek, causing her to blush a little. That kiss wasn't romantic, but it still made Sakura happy. She really wasn't ready to enter a serious relationship with Aya right now; being friends with him was more than enough.

Sakura wouldn't run away anymore. She was stronger than that. She had been silly to be afraid of rejection. She and Aya were close friends, and that was all she needed to concentrate on becoming an invincible superstar.


End file.
